Tyrrell County’s Country Magazine June 2014
www.ScuppernongGazette.com Photo by John Lomitola
Maggie Duke Antiques, Books & Art in Columbia
Always buying Unusual Items and Entire Estates Find Us on Historic Main Street--Call us at (252)706-0534 Visit us on Facebook@www.facebook.com/maggie.duke.90
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PUBLISHER: INGRID LEMME ~ EDITOR: TIM K NIELSEN
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Quote of the Month
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“So if anybody wants to get me something, get me 60 crabs - one for each year. I don't want no diamonds, I don't want no shoes, I don't want no party. I want some crabs.” ~ Patti LaBelle
DEAR READER
Inner Banks Porches & Decks Arthur Lee McKinney 252-796-7530 www.facebook.com/ arthur.mckinny Almjusticemckunney@gmail.com
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Congratulations!
Memorial Day Weekend with my friends Phyllis and John visiting from Montauk, NY is unfortunately over. I had a really great time rediscovering with them Hyde and Tyrrell County and the Outer Banks, and the weather was just delightful! John wrote a fine story about our adventures and we hope that y’all enjoy reading it as much as we did
Congratulations Jennifer Hollie for graduating Masters in Math Education. Jennifer & Jake Brickhouse are getting married June 21st at Soundside Freewill Baptist Church at 2:00 pm.
Congratulations! Emily & Justin Patrick
experiencing it. My favorite must have been the ride up the Scuppernong River on Tim’s boat and then the four of us taking a trip to Swan Quarter. As you can see, Pat, the owner of the gas station, had announced our arrival on his hilarious news board right in the middle of town. We all had a ball! Love, Ingrid
HEALING AND
Tyrrell County seemed like the perfect antidote for all our pent up winter blues. It was time for a visit to parts unknown!
BY JOHN LOMITOLA
We were invited to visit Ingrid Lemme, or Miss Ingrid as she is affectionately known around the district. She moved to Columbia in Tyrrell County after selling her vacation home in Swan Quarter that was
RESTORATION ON THE INNER BANKS
A plane ride from NY south for two hours wasn’t fast enough for us to get out of town. It had been a long, hard, cold and soggy winter in Montauk Long Island, this place we call "a drinking town with a fishing problem." As the snow kept piling up, our spirits kept spiraling down, and to that add a serious change of direction in our workplace and you have the Perfect Storm! My wife Phyllis felt it the most, affected by the lack of sun and warmth and a new business model at work, which fundamentally changed all that she’d been taught as well as eradicating all vestiges of her family’s hard work and dedication because it just didn’t fit into the new formula for success. That being said, a call from a former colleague who had recently retired and moved to
purchased years ago on a whim, and still in love with the area found her place in this little corner of the world. She set up shop as the unofficial regional "Queen of the Scuppernong" and "Roving Ambassador of Goodwill" for the tri-county region encompassing Tyrrell, Hyde and Dare. Her efforts to promote the lightly traveled Inner Banks are legendary, with a print media, social media and good ole down home word of mouth blitz that could rival the folks on Madison Avenue!
As we were to find out, everywhere Miss Ingrid went she either knew somebody already or got to know them on the spot with her charming personality and disarming sense of warmth and familiarity. Soon after the first word out of her mouth, people are bewitched by her presence and curious how someone as countryfied as she could have originated from Germany. When Miss Ingrid reached out to us to visit her in Columbia, we too were captivated and drawn to her soulful compassionate embrace that encompassed us from arrival to departure. It was a true reflection of the spiritual and emotional well-being that was to be found in abundance in the Inner Banks where congeniality is a contact sport. Some call it innocence, some call it a vestige of a bygone era, I call it genuine homespun friendliness and cordiality, an art developed through centuries of openness and a lust for life. Columbia was the springboard for all our adventures nearby, and Miss Ingrid’s cottage, which lies
Phyllis & John Lomitola
between the Scuppernong River and the Albemarle Sound, was our nest. Morning ritual was coffee and Spotify music on Miss Ingrid’s bright and airy porch, followed by a walk to the Albemarle Sound for a half hour of yoga on the American Legion pier. Our reward upon returning, a fresh seasonal fruit smoothie
using all locally sourced ingredients. Then, off on a full day of adventure and exploration, to some of the most nostalgic vignettes of Americana that exist in the state of North Carolina. Starting in Columbia, you soon realize the billowing breeze
of wistful sentimentality that is constantly in your face. On Historic Main Street we became acquainted with locals such as Tim Nielsen, proprietor of Maggie Duke Antiques, and his quirky collection of transistor radios from the 50’s, 19th century measuring devices and dome top trunks. And then there is Mr. Bobby’s Barber Shop, where on a whim I got a haircut by the 97-year-old owner for an impossible five bucks! Just a few meters away we wandered along the sultry waters of the Scuppernong River peppered with imposing centuries-old cypress trees and the occasional bald eagle’s nest, fully summoning up images of the elegance that was once the Deep
South. As luck would have it, Tim took us for a Memorial Day ride and lunch down the Scuppernong River on his powerboat. Cruising along over the silky smooth waters brought us to reflect on the profound natural beauty of the Scuppernong, unseen by many. The water was dark, deep with dense overgrown riverbanks, reminding us of how we must confront our fear of life’s unknowns. Our gratitude goes out to Miss Ingrid for bringing us into these moments of inner reflection that began my wife’s healing process.
Food is a constant topic of conversation in these parts and rightfully so; this is the season for soft shell crabs and all the good stuff that goes with it. We stumbled upon Call of the Wild, a stationary trailer parked in the Full Circle Crab
Company’s lot, and sat down to indulge in fried Albemarle Sound soft shell crabs, hush puppies and fried okra, all local specialties. It was amazing to discover how any seemingly random deviations from the
Full Circle Crab Company Inc.
main roads could lead you into a 21st century episode of the Twilight Zone. The community of Gum Neck, just beyond Frying Pan Landing is one of those Kafkaesque depictions of what would have most likely bounced around in T Z creator Rod Serling’s mind. We stumbled upon the Doris' Store, which only heightened our curiosity and suspicion of being time travelers, moving backwards between points of time. While browsing the aisles, we noticed items that had probably been there since the 50’s and 60’s. We were encouraged to sample a local
Southern staple called "hoop cheese," a remnant of small batch farm production in the Deep South, which reminded us of a softer milder version of cheddar. While offering to pay, the owner promptly whipped out a 150-yearold peg-leg to show us as it had belonged to a great-great uncle of his who supposedly lost his appendage in a drunken stupor accident after the Civil War. Southern hospitality at its best! You can’t make this stuff up.
Day after day for almost a week, we started our mornings over again with smoothies, music, yoga, coffee at Elements and back on the road. My wife Phyllis was starting to get the glow back on her face and she showed signs of life in her burdened eyes. I knew then that Miss Ingrid’s serenity house was working its magic on her! Phyllis had come now to be looking forward and taking part in planning the next few days and not just being a passive participant. Today Phyllis
suggested a drive to the beaches of the Outer Banks and so we packed up and headed out to Kitty Hawk and Avalon Pier. This time of year seemed a bit crowded for my taste, but the sand was hot and plush with plenty of it stretching north and south for hundreds of miles. Just north of all the madness is the small community of Duck, a coastal village with a bohemian personality voted one of the Top Ten Beaches in America by The Travel Channel. After spending some time at Scarborough Faire in Duck, during one of the many festivals that are promoted all summer,
we decided to venture to the north a bit to see the Wild Banker Mustangs of Corolla. These horses are traditional descendants of Barbary horses brought over by the Raleigh colonists or saved from wrecked Portuguese ships, and they roam all over the beaches and dunes where we could see them accompanied by a guide from the Corolla Wild Horse Tours.
With our last day upon us, Miss Ingrid suggested we take a road trip to Engelhard, a town with no stoplights in a county with no stoplights! We planned lunch at Martelle’s Feed House after a quick detour to Swan Quarter, the county seat and location of Miss Ingrid’s first home in North Carolina. On the way into Swan Quarter, the gas station that sits at the intersection of Main Street and County Rd 45 somehow got word of Miss Ingrid’s contingent of out of staters, and so posted a hand painted sign in front of the station with “Hold on to your Hats, Phyllis and John, Ingrid
and Tim are in Town” painted on it! It pretty much made our day and soon after we were off to lunch at Martelle’s Feed House. With a name like that you'd probably steer clear of it in any other part of the world; not in Hyde County. Everyone loves the buffets and the fresh homespun cooking that people seem to call comfort food.
www.martellesfeedhouse.com
Finally, we doubled back through Columbia and crossed the Albemarle Sound heading north to the classic town of Edenton, one of America’s prettiest locales, as noted by Forbes.Com. This is one town that exudes prosperity and elegance, and was the site of the little known Maritime Underground Railroad, where African American watermen worked to identify sympathetic seamen and to arrange passage on ships for enslaved persons to a free state. Harriet Jacobs' description of her escape by sea from Edenton in 1842 is one of only a few written accounts existing. Our day ended at the waterfront park, relaxing while contemplating the restoration
efforts on the original Roanoke River Lighthouse, that was carefully moved by barges to the waterfront after its decommission in 1941. Our plans to return to Montauk now included one very content and well adjusted wife who, after this get-a-way to the Inner Banks, and the friendship shown by Miss Ingrid and her acquaintances, will have left gratified, and fulfilled with sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all.
BEARS AND BIRDS: REFUGE TOURS SHOW OFF NC TREASURE
Tour participants hike the short trail to Pungo Lake.
BY ANNE BLYTHE DAVIS Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, located in Hyde, Washington and Tyrrell Counties, provides habitat for an impressive variety of native wildlife such as waterfowl, red wolves and black bears. A portion of the Refuge known as the Pungo Unit is largely in
Hyde County, and the best place to get good looks at black bears. The Friends of Pocosin Lakes NWR, a nonprofit group that promotes the Refuge and
provides volunteer support, helps visitors get the most out of their visits by organizing van tours at prime wildlife viewing times. In the spring and
Spring and summer Refuge tours are great times to see black bears - individual bears or sows with cubs. Photo credit US Fish and Wildlife Service.
summer, the Friends group coordinates tours that focus on observing black bears, while fall and winter tours are aimed at waterfowl viewing. During the bear tours, the van route follows Refuge roads between farm fields, forests and densely vegetated wetlands. At any time, a single bear, or a sow with cubs might pop up out of the wheat or be seen ambling along a field path or swimming a canal. A recent bear tour included visitors from Greenville, Washington,
Durham and northern Virginia. One participant, Dr. Alice Arnold of East Carolina University, commented that visiting the Refuge was like a "mini-vacation" and that she had been on more than one Friends tour. Dr. Arnold and her fellow van riders saw ten black bears, some of which presented the visitors with great opportunities for taking pictures. The group also hiked a short distance from the road to the edge of Pungo Lake where they heard and saw wood ducks and learned about the
During the tours visitor have plenty of opportunity to watch and photograph wildlife. ~ Photo by Anne Blythe Davis
uniqueness of Pungo Lake and the surrounding pocosins. For information about upcoming tours of Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge go to www.pocosinlakesfriends.org or write to Friends of Pocosin Lakes NWR, P.O. Box 222, Columbia, NC 27925. Do not miss a chance to see corner of Hyde County that provides a great wildlife treasure!
LET'S ZUMBA! BY GABBY CRAIL So, what in the world is Zumba, you might ask? Over fourteen million people have joined this fitness party, which is more of a party than it is fitness. Alberto Perez, a choreographer from Colombia, accidentally created this exercise out of improvisation in the 90's. Seems coffee isn't the only great asset to grow out of Colombia. He brought his Zumba into the states a little over 10 years later and it was an instant hit. Now, if you've never heard of Zumba, the best way to explain it is that it's a conglomeration of Latin dances mixed with some samba, merengue, mambo, hip-hop and even some kick boxing, depending on the instructor. Talk about a whole body experience that would normally take hours at a gym on tedious equipment. Skip the weights and the stair climber and literally jump into a celebration of dance incorporating international cultures into one hour of fun! You'll typically
begin with slow moving stretches that focus on getting your muscles prepared while breathing deep. The tempo picks up as you start moving specific body parts to something like your favorite hip-hop hits; this gets you motivated. It gradually gets serious with fast paced salsa moves that get your adrenaline pumping. By now you're going full speed, jumping,
tapping your feet, swinging your hips, clapping, shouting, sweating and I guarantee, smiling! Sounds a lot like a mixture of yoga, salsa, squats, lunges, jumping jacks, stretches and tons more you won't even realize you're doing. Don't worry, this is more fun than your typical fitness. It's like a girls night out! So why the elaborate introduction? With very little resources within our community we either have to outsource to a nearby gym or walk on the
boardwalk at sunset. I'd still encourage that, but if you want to have fun and gets results, this is the way to do it! And you won't have to go far, because this summer we're bringing Zumba to you! Columbia will now have its very own source for fitness. I've teamed up with one of my favorite Zumba instructors from the Elizabeth City area, and she's excited to meet us all. Beginning in midJune she'll be here to uplift our spirits and maybe a few other things. Elements will keep you updated on the details, but more than likely it will take place on Mondays at the Good Times Tavern. Admission is $5, and all you do is show up! So gear up in your best neon tanks ladies, dust off those old running shoes and join the fun-I mean fitness! Fear not, even if you're a beginner you'll have so much fun you'll still burn calories laughing! What are you waiting for? Let's Zumba! Gabby Crail is the owner of Elements, a cute coffee shop located at South Elm Street in Vineyards on the Scuppernong! www.facebook.com/ ElementsColumbiaNC
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BOOK BINDING WORKSHOP BY MIRIAM FAUTH
A couple of months ago, The Scuppernong Gazette featured an article about Tyrrell County library offering a book making project. A follow up was promised, and here it is! The children had been working very hard for weeks, completing
their stories and illustrations. Book Binding day was Friday May 22, and it was anticipated with great enthusiasm. Linda Markham, the organizer of the project, wanted the children to get all the support and attention they needed. And since book binding is quite detailed, the children were split into two groups. My children attended the 10.30 am group, which walked into the back room of the library to find two copies of their books, arranged on and awaiting them. They excitedly thumbed through the glossy pages of their very own work. The illustrations looked exceptionally bright and vivid on the glossy paper Linda had chosen, and the type was impressively set .Their books also included a lovely final page; Linda's idea was for each child
to write a “bio” about themselves that also would include a photo. After all the pages in their books were in correct order, the children went to Tammy Philip’s stationery table. Tami Philips was Linda’s helper for the day, and she presented an array of colored, patterned paper and all kinds of interesting stationary. One by one, each child chose the color and type of paper they would use for the covers of their books. Now, everyone listened and paid close attention to the instructions they needed to follow. The front and backs of the books had to be covered, and lots and lots of glue would be needed to hold the spines of the books in place. As the children listened, they slowly saw their books take shape.
Even though it took concentration, they all still had lots of fun chatting and sharing important “news” as they worked. In a while, they two nearly completed books awaiting final steps until finished. One book would be to take home, the other book was for library use, where any patron can check one out! Linda asked for attention again; it was time to glue the front page. Linda animatedly shared that they all needed to check once, and then check again, that the book was facing the right way before gluing the front page on. Linda shared some comical stories of front pages glued upside down
during previous workshops! The final step was letting the books sit under the weight of some very heavy library books to make sure that all of that oozy glue was doing its job. The children all left knowing they would get their books the following week. The room with its book binding material was left waiting for the next group of children arriving that afternoon to bind their books. Tyrrell County Library has gone above and beyond with this project; and I speak from experience because this was my children’s third year of participation. It is a long process--writing and then
making 16 illustration--that takes lots of encouragement from all the adults involved. But, nothing could beat the look of wonderment on their faces when they saw their books complete. Nothing can beat the pride they have in showing family and friends their very own books. I would like to thank Tyrrell County Library, and helpers like Vickie Woolard who offered her time very openly to all of the authors. As the book writing project closes, it is nearly time for the next big event at the library: the Summer Reading Program! www.facebook.com/pages/Tyrrell-CountyPublic-Library/149608918388166
SOUL SEARCHERS: FRIENDS4EVER BY BARBARA SNELL KREBS
Soul Searchers, the Annapolis-based Christian drama group, will return to Columbia to perform friends4ever, a musical that follows four high school friends through the challenges and triumphs they face. Co-written by Stephen V. Taylor, Karla Worley, and Michael W. Smith, the play provides an exciting drama that captures the issues faced by today’s youth. The musical will be performed at Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church in Columbia on Thursday, June 26 at 7:00 p.m. The group, now in its 42nd year of performing, is directed by Scott and Nicole Hughes, a husbandand-wife team who
are both teachers in Maryland’s Anne Arundel County public school system. Though Soul Searchers is based out of Eastport United Methodist Church in Annapolis, Maryland, the group is interdenominational and comprised of children who range from fourth graders on up through high school. As always, the Soul Searchers could not appear here without the generosity and cooperation of local churches. As in past years, both the Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church and the Columbia Christian Church have volunteered to help out – the Methodist Church providing the stage and hosting the youth
at their facility for the night, and the Christian Church providing dinner to welcome them to town. So take advantage of the chance to see a great group of kids performing while they’re in this area. If you like watching kids performing their hearts out; if you like getting together with your friends and neighbors to watch a great performance, then come on out to see the Soul Searchers in friends4ever. If you’d like to learn more about Soul Searchers, its history, its 2014 touring schedule, and photos of past performances, please visit the group’s web site at www.soulsearchers.org.
THE VISION SESSION BY ANN WARD PRESIDENT, GREATER TYRRELL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Greater Tyrrell County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors held a day-long visioning session May 28 at the new Pocosin Arts facility. Led by Mr. Richard Bunch, the Regional Marketing Manager for North Carolina’s Northeast Commission, other visiting session guests included Chamber representatives from three northeast counties including: Win Dale, Executive Director for the EdentonChowan Chamber of
Commerce, Lewis Hoggard, Executive Director for the Windsor-Bertie Chamber of Commerce and Jonathan Taylor, President of the Washington County Chamber of Commerce. The visiting Chamber representatives shared their organizational structures, challenges they faced in the past as well as success stories. Tyrrell County School representatives presented an informative afternoon session sharing information on the curriculum now being offered to students as well as plans for new curriculum to help students gain skills making them better candidates for a competitive job market. The group discussed ways the schools and the
Chamber can work together in the future to benefit our youth and the business future of Tyrrell County. During the day, Mr. Bunch led our group through various informative and brainstorming sessions to help us determine where we need to focus in the next 24-36months. Topics discussed included the purpose and power of a vital Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors composition, membership/membership services (tangible and intangible benefits of membership), training opportunities available for local Chamber
organizations, fundraising/ investment/sponsorship options, education/workforce development, collaboration opportunities with university and community colleges, business retention/recruitment, government affairs/economic development, and management of the organization. At the conclusion of the day, Mr. Bunch led us through an exercise where we selected the ‘working bullet points’ which we feel are most important to our local community and Chamber of Commerce. The next step is the really vital part of this entire process. Mr. Bunch will take all of the ideas and input and utilize his 25+ years of Chamber experience to design a plan of work for our
organization. It will be absolutely critical that all Tyrrell County Chamber of Commerce members help in the implementation of this plan. Our Board of Directors can not do it on our own; it will take us all working together! I would like to express our gratitude to the North Carolina’s Northeast Commission for allowing Mr. Bunch to share his time and talents with us, to help us develop a road map for success for our Chamber. And I would also like to thank Pocosin Arts for the use of their beautiful facility to conduct our session. We are also very grateful for Town of Columbia Manager Rhett White and Tyrrell County Schools for joining us in this important initiative. In addition, I want to thank the
Board of Directors for their time, ideas and commitment to this organization and this strategic planning process. I encourage all Chamber members and the entire county to become engaged in the implementation process. Together we can build a stronger business future for Tyrrell County. For information on the Greater Tyrrell County Chamber of Commerce and their strategic planning process, contact them at PO Box 170, Columbia, NC 27925 or 252-796-1996. Our next board of directors and general membership meeting will be held at 8:00 am at Elements. on the third Thursday in June, the 19th, when Mr. Bundy will reveal the Chamber’s new “Plan Of Work.”
It seems hard to believe but Facebook, that juggernaut of social media, has been around a mere decade. We’ve been friending people and liking posts for just 10 years. Yes, that’s right. Before 2004, friend was not a verb. Don’t get me wrong here. I like Facebook. I have friends from all over the United States and internationally, as well. I’ve reconnected with people I knew in high school and college, from long-ago jobs and pretty much everything in between. I’ve reconnected both virtually and face to face, thanks to fb. I can read about my friends’ successes and frustrations, see pictures of their kids and grandkids, learn what movies they like, all without changing out of my pajamas. But before Facebook, before Twitter, before email, there was … the front porch. Now THAT was a way to connect with folks! Luckily, though Faceporch is a little lowtech, it’s never gone completely out of fashion. I don’t have to think back to my childhood to dredge up memories of socializing on the porch. I get to do that every time I visit my dad, weather permitting, of course.
FACEPORCH: RETRO SOCIAL MEDIA BY BARBARA KREBS
crops, getting ready to plant or harvest. Then again, it might simply be a friend dropping by to see how things are going. “Looks like you got those tomatoes in,” or “You wanna go out and eat tonight?” The simple fact is, you neither know quite who’s going to show up, nor what the conversation might turn to, and that’s just the human visitors. We keep binoculars handy so we can check out the four-legged creatures who wander by. We’ve been visited by bears, deers, bobcats, groundhogs, not to mention a vast variety of avian amigos.
Now you might think that a porch out in the country without benefit of next-door neighbors might be a tad lonesome, but I can assure you that is never the case. First of all, there’s always a chance that one of the local fisherman will drive up. Sometimes they just wave from the truck, but at other times, they saunter over to chat--about the weather, the fish (biting or not), what so-and-so is up to, who’s doing what. Or maybe it’s one of the farmers, checking on the
However, though porches don’t need to be fancy, I do need to mention that a proper porch does require seating. You can’t have a good conversation without a couple of relaxing rockers or a swing, preferably both. Another aid to dialogue is a beverage to wet your whistle. That can range from iced tea to lemonade to, well, let’s just say something a little stronger. With a cold glass sweating in your hand, and available to place against a hot cheek or forehead, you might just linger for a little longer to discuss how the world would be better if only …
I feel sorry for folks who don’t have a porch. I think the story is apocryphal, but my husband swears it’s true. The first time I came to his house, which eventually became mine too, he says I told him it was a lovely place, but where was the porch? That small travesty was corrected in due time, and we love sitting out there, listening to the sounds of the neighbors-- kids squealing, dogs barking, lawn mowers roaring, the sounds of life lived around you. One minor caveat, because of our house style, we ended up with a back porch. Still, being lucky enough to be on a corner lot, we can watch the cars, kids, dogs and bicyclists pass by on the “main drag.” I have to admit that I was amused when our porch was added, especially when it came to all the city code that
was required. Seems that you needed electrical outlets every 12 feet because, as our contractor explained, “folks always enclose these things
eventually, so we have to set ‘em up so they meet interior room codes.” Well, I don’t know about “always,” but I can assure you, whenever this porch gets enclosed, it won’t be me who did it. I’ll leave that to the next owner, because you lose something when you glass
yourself in. How can I hear the little kids next door arguing if I put up that barrier between me and them? How will I smell the freshly mown grass--one of the best scents God ever created? How can I enjoy the next summer rain shower, feeling a bit of the mist as it blows across my face, listening to the sounds of rain hammering on my roof ? No, the porch is my connection to what’s going on in my little slice of the community. It allows me to relax, while enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of what’s happening around me. Life connected, Southernstyle. So come on over and sit a spell. I’ve got some freshsqueezed lemonade just waitin’ for ya. Yup, I have to admit that Faceporch is my favorite social media.
You may contact Miss Barbara on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ barbara.s.krebs
$18 $17 SENIORS $12 STUDENTS Call for Group Rates and Morning Matinée Tickets for K-12 Children and Chaperones ALL TIX +$2 AT THE DOOR
June 27 ~ 7pm June 28 ~ 10am June 28 ~ 2pm June 28 ~ 7pm June 29 ~ 2pm The epic, biblical story of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to life in this stunning musical, Joseph, The Dreamer. His story is tragic yet enthralling. Joseph was his father’s favorite. Jealousy drove his brothers to sell him into slavery where he was taken to Egypt. A famine in Israel forced his brothers to travel to Egypt seeking food. Eventually, they found themselves pleading for their lives from a brother they no longer recognized. The reconciliation that followed was gripping. You don’t want to miss this Dove Award winning musical about a man whose life went from tragedy to triumph!
BY CAM FLORIA THROUGH SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT WITH MUSIC SERVICES, NASHVILLE, TN
College of The Albemarle 1208 N. Road Street Elizabeth City NC 27906
FOR TICKETS AND MORE INFORMATION:
Albemarle.edu/pac 252-335-9050
CLASS OF… BY DEAN ROUGHTON Both as a professional educator and as a parent, I have spent the past few weeks attending all manner of awards ceremonies and graduations. If you have ever spent much time at such events, one phrase you will hear and see over and over is “the Class of (insert current year).” This year as I was sitting through one such ceremony and reading “the Class of 2014,” I thought back to when the program read “Columbia High School Class of 1989,” back to when I was walking across that stage 25 years ago. (Twenty-five years??? Really? I don’t even feel 25 years old in total. How the heck can I have been out of high school that long?!? Hold up, I can’t breathe!!! This has been a test of the Emergency Mid-Life Crisis Broadcast System. This was only a test. We now return you to your regularly scheduled article already in progress.) And as the student speakers at some of these functions listed some of their favorite memories dealing with their classmates and teachers, I could not help but be brought back to some of mine. So in this
Silver Anniversary year of our high school graduation, I thought I would share a few. The first day of kindergarten, my awesome cousins, Billie Jo and Bobbie Jo, got in trouble for coming to school barefooted. Yes, I said barefooted. Now I love my cousins (and will continue to do so even after they kick my tail for writing this paragraph), and I understand we all grew up in the country and that school starts when the weather is still all nice and summery, but how do you forget to put on shoes for school? And how does the bus driver even let you on without shoes? (And how am I going to get the swelling to go down from this impending black eye?) In second grade, I had Fay Cooper. Two things I remember from that year: Everybody thought Ms. Cooper was a real hottie, and I had to get stitches. (No, not from hitting on Ms. Cooper.) We had indoor recess due to weather one day, and being such intelligent second graders, we decided to play “bumper cars”-- which I learned later in life is technically referred to as a mosh pit. This was back in the days of actual blackboards and chalk--the extent of instructional technology back then. While I was moshing, I
went down and got a close up view of the corner of the wooden chalkboard tray with my left eye. I felt something wet, so I went to my desk and put my head down because I thought I must have been crying and boys weren’t supposed to cry in those days. Then my whole desk turned crimson. So yeah, that was fun. (Luckily, my vision wasn’t permanently affected, so when I came back from getting stitches, I could still see Ms. Cooper’s hottiness.) Sue Anderson taught me science in fifth grade. When she told us about the speed of light and how the light we currently see from distant stars originated years ago, I was fascinated and quickly formulated a basic theory of time travel which I used to monopolize class discussion with Mrs. Anderson while the other students just stared at me like I had lost my mind. The other thing I remember about Mrs. Anderson was how comfortable she made her students feel-- so much so that, to my instant mortification and followed by the cackles of my classmates, I accidentally called her “mom” once in the middle of class. (Oh, don’t act like you never did that!) In Junior High, I had my first experience at losing a classmate when our friend, David,
died in an accident. The Class of 1989 has lost others through the years, especially in our adult lives, but nothing is as hard as the first time when you are just a bunch of kids. This was also the first time I really had a chance to see teachers as whole people, complete with all their human frailty just like the rest of us. Mr. Anderson grieved right alongside of us, and I think it was this
willingness to allow us to see this side of him that helped us all get through it. Ninth grade hormones and girls were the root cause of a fight between Mike Cole and me in computer class one day as we grappled and quite literally threw each other across rows of desks. When Ms. Hamilton sent us to the office, we walked apart and did not speak one word to each
other. If you think I have some creative storytelling talent, you should have heard how Mike convinced Mr. Smith that it was all a misunderstanding and that we were “just playing.� (I guess later on when I received in-school suspension for accidentally getting gum in Ginger Hassell’s hair, that was karma biting me in the butt.) That same year in shop class, Glenn Brickhouse (among
others, possibly including me) invented a game in which we would pull the fluffy lint off our socks and blow it into the air, targeting Mr. Sutterfield as he walked around class. With half a dozen of us all taking aim, his airspace would routinely become particle filled, leading him to the conclusion that the shop was having asbestos problems and that the administration needed to look into it for our safety. Senior year for Physics class, my father helped me build a project to demonstrate the properties of atmospheric pressure. I told him I wanted to reduce pressure in a closed system by removing air, and he helped me put together the equipment to do so. This enabled me to show water boiling at room temperature and to inflate a balloon without blowing air into it. Ms. Marshburn was very impressed with the project and gave me a 110 on it, which she felt I deserved, and I was so very grateful for all my dad’s help. A couple of weeks later Ms. Marshburn gave me a 32 on a test, which she also felt I deserved. She was right, of course, since I hadn’t even cracked a book, but that didn’t stop me
from having an out of body experience in which I knew I was cursing out loud in the middle of class but could not seem to stop myself. (I received some more in school suspension to learn to keep myself inside my own body.) There are many more stories about teachers and classmates I could share, but I don’t have the space to tell them all here. Besides, that would deplete both material and potential surprise of people seeing their names in print in a future book. But speaking to the current high school seniors everywhere and especially those at Columbia High School, I would encourage you to cherish these same types of memories. When you look back on your Silver Anniversary in 2039, you will not likely remember what you wrote on a given essay exam or how you did in a particular year on an End-of-Grade test. Vocabulary lists and mathematical formulae will likely have flown right out the window,
and you will have no idea what your locker combination was. What you will remember, though, are the individual experiences and the relationships you built with your parents, teachers, and classmates--those people who helped you along the way. Reinforce those now so that the toll of time and distance don’t wear them down. Finally, we the Class of 1989 congratulate and commend you the Class of 2014 on all your accomplishments. We wish you nothing but good things in life. Now is the time to celebrate your achievements. (Just don’t be driving by our houses with your loud muffler trucks and your booming bass cars past 8:00 at night because we have to get up early to work on our flower beds.) Twenty-five years??? Really?
MORE ABOUT DEAN ROUGHTON www.deanroughton.com
HOW ABOUT THIS… BY JOSHUA CRAIG POCOSIN ARTS PROGRAMMING AND MARKETING COORDINATOR Pocosin Arts is very excited to offer Summer Art Camp to kids from all over the area beginning on June 16th. We have been remarkably fortunate to receive the support of public and private enterprises such as the Grable Foundation to enable us to offer these educational programs to area children. These classes are an affordable way for our children to receive the same kinds of cultural opportunities that more urban population
centers have and we are proud that our Summer Art Camp has become the first thing that parents think of when planning activities for their children. Spots are still available in some classes, including Ring Making, Musical Instruments, and many others, and we will be reprising our end-of-camp field trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art. Also, near the end of summer Camp we will once again host an exhibition of the campers work and invite the public to come and celebrate their creative achievements. Parents who are interested in sending their children to art camp for a week can register online at www.pocosinarts.org/
classes/summer-youth-art-camp . Classes are only $55 for the week and scholarships are available as well. We are always excited to have the energy and life that these young children bring to the office and June 16th can’t come soon enough!
Maggie Duke Antiques & Art Proudly Presents the
Remaining Important Works of
Asa McEwan (widely recognized Outsider Artist)
210 Historic Main St * Columbia NC (252)706-足0534
www.asamcewan.com
A BLAZING BBQ BY INGRID LEMME Lt. Sunny Lemme, my late husband, was a volunteer fireman and EMT-CC in our old hometown of Montauk, at the very tip of Long Island, NY. I guess that is one of the reasons why I am especially supportive of everything that has to do with volunteer fire departments and ambulance squads. Our Tyrrell County Volunteer Fire Department held their annual
BBQ Pork Dinner with Fixins May 18th and Tyrrell County residents stepped up to the plate, with over 500 plates sold at $8 each-- a successful fundraiser, indeed! Of course our Tyrrell County Ladies Auxiliary sold their famous desserts contributing to the good cause as well.
TYRRELL COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DIVISION OF HIGHWAY AT WORK
TO REPORT A CULVERT OR DITCH BLOCKAGE, CONTACT OUR STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF HIGHWAYS TYRRELL COUNTY MAINTENANCE OFFICE 2142 OLD COLUMBIA RD, COLUMBIA, NC 27925 (252) 796-4621 THEY RESPOND QUICKLY AND GET THE JOB DONE.
DON’T FIGHT WITH A SNAPPER TURTLE YOURSELF!
A RED ROOF BY INGRID LEMME I am sure y'all remember the storm that had came out of the blue this spring--actually the dark of night--that brought us 80 mph gusts of wind and heavy rain and rocked not only the boats, but also my roof. Make a long story short, I lost quite a few shingles resulting in water coming through my bedroom ceiling onto my new carpet. I got a bucket, placed it under the steady dripping, pulled my comforter over my ears and prayed. I was scared, but I must have eventually fallen asleep, as I awoke the next morning to a blue sky, a few inches of water in the bucket and an uncomfortable
feeling in my stomach. After all I would have to deal with insurance people and roofers and then some. I asked around, my family and others I knew and trusted, and all advised me to call roofer Robert Thompson. "He is hard to get," they said, "but worth waiting for, probably the best in his trade." I called and Robert came with a helper, climbed on my roof and covered it with a blue tarp. Then he advised me to call my insurance agent, which I did. Lloyd Armstrong of Tyrrell County Farm Bureau responded quickly, took photos and sent an adjuster who filled out a report. I wanted a new roof, red, and as quickly as possible. Robert's crew was booked for
weeks in advance, but I decided to wait. Two weeks later the crew arrived at 7 am, covered the yard with tarp and started their trade. These skilled men took the old roof down in no time, and after the delivery truck with a crane lifted the new shingles up, they seamlessly nail them down. Robert Thompson and his men are worth waiting for. They do it once and they do it right.
Robert Thompson Roofing 1334 U.S. 64, Columbia, NC 27925 (252) 796-4137
Full Circle Crab Company, Inc www.fullcircleseafood.com 1366 US Highway 64 East, Columbia, NC 27925 (252) 796-9696
www.facebook.com/fullcirclecrabcompany
Tyrrell County’s Country Magazine June 2014
www.ScuppernongGazette.com Photo by Ingrid Lemme